Vietnam’s Stocks Drop Most in Two Weeks Amid Reports of Arrests

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s stocks dropped, dragging
the benchmark index down the most in two weeks, amid media
reports of more arrests in the finance industry.

The benchmark VN Index fell 2.2 percent at the close in Ho
Chi Minh City, the biggest decline since Aug. 27. Police had
arrested Nguyen Duy Hung, head of Saigon Invest Group’s
representative office in Hanoi, alleging he appropriated secret
government documents, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said on
its website on Sept. 8. Police also arrested Nguyen Thi Bich
Trang, an employee of Tan Tao Investment Industry Joint-Stock
Co., according to the report.

The VN Index has tumbled 11 percent since Aug. 20, when
Nguyen Duc Kien, a founder of Asia Commercial Bank, was detained
for what the central bank called conducting “business
illegally.” The lender’s former Chief Executive Officer Ly Xuan
Hai was subsequently arrested for alleged economic
mismanagement.

“Investors now are very sensitive to any arrests, no
matter who and from which companies,” said Nguyen Duy Phong, a
Ho Chi Minh City-based analyst at Viet Capital Securities.
“Some investors sold shares today as they are worried that
there may be more arrests.”

Tan Tao slumped 3.5 percent to 5,500 dong, the lowest close
since Jan. 31. Nguyen Tuan Minh, deputy general director of Tan
Tao, confirmed Trang’s arrest when reached by Bloomberg News,
saying the company’s board will meet “soon” to discuss the
incident and to consider whether to assign her a lawyer.

Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of Saigon Invest, was not
reachable on his mobile phone. Nguyen Tien Luc, deputy head of
the Police Bureau for Crime Prevention, did not answer calls to
his mobile phone.